The story of California Burgers starts in 2002, when founder Theo Tzavaras ventured to Los Angeles for the first time. Full of wonder and wide-eyed optimism, he marvelled at the incredible variety and diversity of the food scene in LA. Theo experienced his first American burger at the iconic Astro Burger, and from that moment on, he was hooked.
Food has been a lifelong passion for Theo. He remembers recreating hamburgers inspired by fast-food favourites for his brother, looking for ways to include his own personalised touches. Theo always knew that his career would revolve around food, but he could never have guessed just how closely his passion project would resemble those early days of making burgers as a child.
Over the years Theo and his wife have travelled to LA countless times. Driven by the city’s tangible energy and endless creativity, they knew that they wanted to capture the essence of California and create a unique food experience back home in Melbourne. Taking inspiration from LA’s cult-like burger bars such as In‘n’ Out Burger, food trucks and the vibrant African American and Latino food cultures, Theo began to formulate his own burger bar concept.
After many years of trial and error, planning, recipe development and perfecting the menu, California Burgers was launched in 2009 as a ‘secret menu’ in Theo’s souvlaki shop. Operating on a purely word of mouth basis, the burgers were an instant success. The ultimate compliment came via several American celebrities who claimed that the burgers where just as good if not better than their favourites back home. Despite the initial success, Theo was hugely protective of his brand, wanting to ensure everything was just right before officially launching California Burgers.
The next step was in 2012 when California Burgers released its menu to an online ordering service. Although it was criticised by the operator for having a small menu, the mystery burger bar was a massive success and left many fans wondering where exactly California Burgers was and how could they get more?
After several years of a less than conventional start, California Burgers officially opened its doors in 2014 and the brand’s phenomenal popularity has continued to soar. The California Burgers concept is all about less is more, offering a small menu of classic burgers, traditional style tacos, chicken and souvlaki – complete with fries. Theo is adamant that when it comes to his menu he prefers to do a few things exceptionally well rather than have a large yet average offering.
Each California Burgers is inspired by an area in LA – ensuring a tantalising variety that offers something for all burger preferences and a catchy name that you’re bound to remember. The California Classic Burger is the quintessential burger experience, with a smashed beef patty, American cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, pink mayo and ketchup while The Calabasas cleverly plays on the area’s Kardashian fame and their love of a good salad, with a bun-less burger that wraps 2 smashed beef patties with a lettuce leaf, finished with American cheese, tomato, onion, pickles, pink mayo and ketchup.
California Burgers proudly makes every single burger to order, using freshly prepared ingredients from open until close. Every beef patty is handmade and hand-smashed for each burger, the super-popular pink sauce is also house made and the moreish brioche buns are delivered fresh every day. Consistency, passion and perfectionism go into every order, ensuring that each California Burgers experience is as mouth-watering and memorable as the last.
California Burgers is open from 5pm to 2am Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday and from 5pm to 4am Friday to Saturday. California Burgers is located in Chapel Street, Windsor and is also available via UBER Eats and Deliveroo with plans to open an additional Melbourne store and a Sydney-based pop-up store later in 2018.
